Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Missing The Mark: Exploring The Forgetting Of Disability In Media, Emily Dobson

Critical Reflections

A common concern within the disability community are the ways in which negative or misguided representations in media produce stigma. Stigma can be broadly defined to include “problems of knowledge (ignorance), problems of attitudes (prejudice), and problems of behaviour (discrimination),” which means that inadequate or unrealistic representations can cause a variety of damaging effects1. In Narrative Prosthesis, David T. Mitchell and Sharon L. Snyder explore the ways in which a broad selection of literature has represented disability as a literary device. Despite an ever growing number of examples of disability in media, the public, and especially many scholars, have forgotten …

Scientific Revolutions As Events: A Kuhnian Critique Of Badiou, Jacob Smith

Critical Reflections

In this essay, I will attempt a critique of the Badiouan formulation of the event by asking if Badiou’s theory, as formulated in Being and Event, explains the phenomenon of the scientific revolution. While Badiou remains relatively cryptic about the status of science in Being and Event and does not refer to any scientific revolutions explicitly, there are several reasons why it might seem problematic if they are not to be included within his theory of the event. After all, they are called revolutions and the historical narrative surrounding them typically develops, much like the Badiouan event, with the …

How To Interpret Spinoza’S Theory Of Attribute: The Subjective And Objective Interpretations Revisited, Xiangnong (Herbert) Hu

Critical Reflections

Scholars disagree on how to interpret two terms, ‘intellect’ and ‘as’, in the definition of attribute given by Spinoza in his Ethics and thus divide themselves into two rival camps: one is known as the subjective interpretation, and the other, objective interpretation. In this essay, I argue that both interpretations are problematic in one way or another, and a better interpretation should take a middle path between the subjective and objective. By this new interpretation, ‘intellect’ should be understood as infinite and finite intellects, and ‘as’ to be ‘as in fact’. Therefore, what the definition of attribute really means is …

A-Theory Or B-Theory Of Time? An Aristotelian Answer, Luca Banfi

Critical Reflections

A-Theory or B-Theory of Time? An Aristotelian Answer

The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of Aristotle’s theory of time, in order to understand if it could introduce a stimulus into the contemporary debate on the nature of time between A-theorists and B-theorists. The first section (§1) of the paper is devoted to a conceptual explanation of these two main positions about the nature of time and their intimate link with eternalism and presentism. The second section (§2) presents the Aristotelian view on the nature of time (Strobach: 1998), considering his analysis on the notion of ‘periods’ …

On Realism And The Pessimistic Meta-Induction, Stanford Howdyshell

Critical Reflections

In this paper I will discuss the Pessimistic Meta-Induction put forth by Larry Laudan in his paper A Confutation of Convergent Realism and discuss how it overcomes the No Miracles argument for scientific realism. I will then reconcile these two positions through the theory that scientific terms posit and refer to models of reality that are relevantly similar to how the world is.

This paper will begin with a discussion of the No Miracles argument and Pessimistic Meta-Induction, resulting in doubt that scientific terms genuinely refer to objects in the world. In order to overcome the anti-realist position that the …

Accusatory Based Discourse Strategies: Apologia, Kategoria And Strategic Image Repair Discourse, Josie E. Richards

Critical Reflections

The purpose of this paper is to suggest that an orator can strategically pick discourse strategies when issuing their apologia if they understand the attitudes they are combatting in the subsequent kategoria. This paper draws heavily on works by William Benoit and Halford Ryan. Using a general understanding of apologia, and the concept of kategoria as conceptualized by Ryan, I suggest that once an orator understands apologia and kategoria as a speech set, they can use Benoit’s image repair tactics as an effective way to repair their image to their respective audience. The combination of an orators understanding of apologia, …

The Paradox Of Imprecision In Language, Henry R. Bauer

Critical Reflections

The Paradox of Imprecision in Language

Abstract

This paper investigates philosophical questions bearing on the relationship between language and mind, through an analysis of the phenomenon of “efficient imprecision” in language. It is argued that language users’ ability to intuitively connect allegedly imprecise linguistic expressions with definite conceptual information presents a paradox that might lead philosophers, linguists and cognitive scientists alike to reconsider the relationship between the computational machinery of human language and its function as the vehicle of conscious thought.

Like the puzzle about the identity relation which Gottlob Frege presents in the seminal Sense and Reference (1892), which …

Law And Oppression: A Moral Call To Abstain From The Use Of Moral Language, Benjamin L. Stalnaker

Critical Reflections

Abstract: In this presentation, I first establish that morality is invoked to justify the existence of discriminatory or otherwise oppressive laws that harm marginalized groups. Examples that demonstrate this point will be pulled from past and present laws that target homosexual and transgender populations, ranging from anti-sodomy laws to trans bathroom bills. Next, I argue that moral language is imbued with normative and motivational force because of its association with legitimate moral judgments. Since normative judgments provide reason to act, the invocation of such judgments is seen to carry that same reason and motivational force. In the absence of legitimate …

Virtue Theory As A Feminist Ethical Framework, Alejandro Navas

Critical Reflections

In recent decades, feminists have pointed out how prominent ethical theories are primarily concerned with establishing rules of conduct between strangers who share (or are theorized as if they share) the same social status. As Claudia Card points out, such theories outline explicit expectations and rewards of formal relationships; these relationships characterize formal institutions, such as law and business, and the considerations of upper-class men who predominate in such institutions. An ethics which focuses on the impersonal application of rules risks overlooking attentiveness to personal needs, a crucial quality in caring relationships which women and poorer classes have had primary …

Understanding Pain In Non-Human Animals: A Critical Exploration Of Arguements, Jessica L. Sitko

Critical Reflections

Abstract

This essay contains a critical analysis of common understandings of pain in animals and challenges common arguments for the presence of phenomenological pain sensations in non-human animals. I will argue that (i) pain behaviors are neither necessary nor sufficient for pain sensations, (ii) the presence of nerve structures in non-human animals which are similar to that of humans are not sufficient for pain sensations, (iii) we cannot rely on similarities between human and non-human experiences of pain to argue for the presence of pain sensations in animals, unless we think that animals are self-conscious in the same way that …

The Truth Of Carousing Peasants Becomes Disclosed, Sebastian Kanally

Critical Reflections

The Truth Of Carousing Peasants Becomes Disclosed

In this paper, I attempt to reconstruct the central points of Martin Heidegger’s theory of the work of art, and argue that Adriaen van Ostade's 1634 painting, "Carousing Peasants In a Rustic Interior," is a perfect lens to see the strength and validity of Heidegger's understanding of art. Heidegger's philosophy of art contains three major components, each of which I examine and argue is manifest in Ostade's painting. The three components the work of art reveals are the following: firstly, a tension is created between "earth" and "world" by instigating what Heidegger calls …

On The Rawlsian Anthropology And The "Autonomous" Account, Jared Mayer

Critical Reflections

In his later major work, Political Liberalism, John Rawls argues for a “political conception of justice,” one that is intended to operate in a diverse and morally pluralistic polity. A crucial feature of this political conception of justice is its ability to supersede (nearly) all other morals claims. This is because the political conception of justice is intended to be “a freestanding view;” that is, it is intended to ground its own normative force without needing to appeal to any particular comprehensive doctrine or set of doctrines. Joseph Raz, in critiquing Rawls, claims that any given justification of political …

At Death’S Door: Unsuccessful Political Entreaties In Antigone And The Apology, Zoe Grabow

Critical Reflections

In this paper, I compare the positions of two iconoclasts on the brink of death, Antigone in Sophocles’ Antigone and Socrates in Plato’s Apology, as well as their motivations for addressing the public while facing execution, examining controversial lines from both works. First I assay Antigone’s final lament, focusing on her statement that she would not bestow the same burial honors on a husband or child as she did for her brother (lines 967-970). This is followed by an analysis of Socrates’ defense speech, focusing on his claim to be the wisest human living (23b). I study the contexts …

Authoritative Faith’S Relation To Reason In The Writings Of St. Thomas Aquinas, Mitchell Witteveen

Critical Reflections

There seems little reason for a philosopher to have religious faith. Beliefs derived from faith are often described as being without evidence or sacrosanct from scrutiny. This is not the belief of St. Thomas Aquinas. I begin the paper by drawing necessary distinctions to other forms of intellectual assent to make clear exactly what Aquinas means when he writes of fides. I then seek to explain how Aquinas seeks to ground the preambles in faith in his philosophical investigations of God, and how the gap between what is known by philosophy and what is known by theology allows for the …

Conditions Of Fundamental Metaphysics: A Critique Of Jorge Gracia's Proposal, Jonathan Vajda

Critical Reflections

Jorge Gracia’s paper “The Fundamental Character of Metaphysics” (2014) proposes five conditions that, if satisfied, would be sufficient to establish metaphysics as a fundamental discipline for other sciences: (1) universal extension, (2) ontological neutralism, (3) sui generis character, (4) overall disciplinary integration, and (5) necessity. In this paper, I argue that his metaphysical project requires revision. Not only are the conditions insufficient to establish fundamentality, two of the conditions are themselves problematic. Gracia's intends to be radically inclusive, yet unintentionally excludes certain views. His notion of fundamentality avoids reference to establishing normative principia, yet a key benefit of grounding …

Grounding The Concept Of God In The Human Predicament, Clinton B. Neptune

Critical Reflections

Contemporary religious epistemology often neglects offering a substantial defense of a particular conception of God, relying instead on appeals to tradition and past great theologians. This neglect is regrettable due to the large impact one’s concept of God has on the kind of expected evidence of God. I aim to correct this deficiency by offering a defensible concept of God grounded in the predicament faced by all human inquirers. My account of this human predicament will focus on three key features that are salient to religious inquiry: death, moral failure, and suffering and severity. I will defend the idea that …

"On Γίγνων", Faith D. Mcfadden

Critical Reflections

Abstract for On Γίγνων

This paper will examine C.D.C Reeve’s use of ἀγάλματα as a birth metaphor in the dialogue the Symposium, and compare it to the other birth metaphors as found in the Theaetetus. This paper posits that there is a difference betwixt the ἀγάλματα found in Socrates and the διάνοια with which certain men are found to be pregnant[1]. The relationship of ἀγάλματα and διάνοια are commensurate to the relationship of διάνοια and νοήσις as found in the hierarchy of understanding in the soul in the line metaphor of the Republic.

The paper will …

Mobile Phones And The Breakdown Of Face-To-Face Communication: Kierkegaard's Call To Friluftsliv, Bjørn R. Kristensen

Critical Reflections

In this paper, I address the negative side effects on face-to-face communication and well-being resulting from our continual use of mobile-mediated technology (MMT). I consider these consequences by drawing on Søren Kierkegaard's deductions on deficient communication, and discuss one remedy he suggests: a closer relationship with nature. However, technology is so ubiquitous in the modern age that the prospect of escaping it, is nearly futile. In response, I offer a solution from the ideology of friluftsliv, which views a regular relationship with nature as a way of getting in touch with one's natural human identity and restoring balance in …

The Web Of Technics: Education And Lewis Mumford In The Information Age, Brigham Bartol

Critical Reflections

This paper examines the status of the World Wide Web in the context of education, using the ideas of 20th century thinker Lewis Mumford to understand potential virtues and problems in the Web as an educational device. In general, my paper examines the conditions of possibility for education on the Web, and suggests some solutions to the problems faced when imagining an educational system which includes the Web.

First, I attempt to define the technics of the Web using some of Mumford’s terminology: I consider the possibility of viewing the Web as either a tool that invites active use or …

Van Inwagen's Modal Argument For Incompatibilism, Katerina Psaroudaki

Critical Reflections

Abstract: Incompatibilism is the philosophical view, according to which, free will is incompatible with determinism. Van Inwagen in his paper “A modal argument for incompatibilism”, presents one of the most compelling arguments in favor of the view by showing that, if we don’t “have a choice about whether” determinism is true nor do we “have a choice about whether” the proposition representing the past and the conjunction of the laws of nature is true, then necessarily we don’t “have a choice about whether” any future description of the world is true. Even though most of the premises of the modal …

The Place Of Health In The Liberal Theory Of Justice, Paul Tubig

Critical Reflections

Author Information:

Paul Tubig

PhD Philosophy Student, University of Washington - Seattle

ptubig@uw.edu

Submission Title:

The Place of Health in the Liberal Theory of Justice

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to articulate the relationship between health and justice. Ethical claims, such as the World Health Organization’s assertion that health is a fundamental human right or that global health inequalities are normative inequities, require a conceptual analysis of the meaning and value of health within a particular framework of justice. Working from the liberal conception of justice as developed by John Rawls, I will argue that the political significance …

The Led Theory Of Material Objects, Michael Tze-Sung Longenecker

Critical Reflections

I present a new theory of the composition of material objects. An important component of it is the claim that objects have non-concrete objects as parts. A non-concrete object is an object that lacks many of the features that concrete objects typically have—size, shape, mass, location, causal abilities, etc.—but yet is unlike typical abstract objects since a non-concrete object could have those features. This is an ontology defended by Timothy Williamson, but I employ it in a new manner to solve problems in the metaphysics of material objects. Specifically, I think it allows us to improve upon the Worm Theory, …

The Implications Of Belonging, Yussiif Yakubu

Critical Reflections

The Implications of Belonging

Abstract

The efforts to explain the evolution of social and moral behaviour often focus exclusively on the positive social and moral traits, or the prosocial traits (in the parlance of evolutionary biology). The standard practice under extant evolutionary modeling has been to represent all social behaviour by the term altruism and all non-social or counter-social behaviour by the contrasting term - selfishness. Such a modeling scheme leaves the negative social/moral behaviours such has bigotry, racism, homophobia, patriarchy, bullying etc. unaccounted for or worse still, they are presumed erroneously to be on the selfishness side of …

Fifty Shades Of Kramer: An Analysis Of Kramer’S Account Of The Nature Of Sadomasochism And Torture, Udoka Okafor

Critical Reflections

Abstract For The University of Windsor Philosophy Conference

In his book, Torture and Moral Integrity, Kramer gives an account of sadomasochism, and an analysis of instances of sadomasochism that counts as either simulations of torture or torture itself. He also expounds an argument for why he thinks that acts of sadomasochism are always and everywhere morally wrong. This paper is going to examine the arguments put forth by Kramer with respect to the relationship between sadomasochism and torture. Ultimately, this paper is going to argue, based on the analysis conducted, that Kramer has a very simplistic understanding of the …

Failings Of Strong Moral Particularism, Timothy Grainger Mr

Critical Reflections

In this paper I will be investigating the possibilities involved with and the consequences of accepting a particularist approach to ethics. Such particularist approaches that reject the use of principles in moral decision making are becoming more popular in contemporary ethical debates underlining modern care ethics, feminist relational ethics, contextualism, and Maclntyre's virtue ethics among others. I will argue that extreme particularism that utterly rejects principles as defended by Jonathan Dancy is an untenable position that does not capture how humans make moral decisions and moreover would remove any hope of being able to discuss morality meaningfully. In order to …

Diagreement, Internalism And Genuine Assertions Of Ppts, Brendan L. Learnihan-Sylvester

Critical Reflections

The problem of lost disagreement is seen as a problem for contextualists when it comes to providing an account of predicates of personal taste (further referred to as PPTs). If Mary says, “The chili is tasty” and John says “The chili is not tasty” we would take there to be a disagreement between them. However, if what Mary means is “The chili is tasty [for Mary]” and what John means is “The chili is not tasty [for John]” then it seems like the disagreement between them simply vanishes. Peter Lasersohn argues that the problem of lost disagreement causes intractable problems …

Disagreement And Faith: Ockham On Faith As An Intellectual Virtue., Adam Langridge

Critical Reflections

At the beginning of Chapter III, Book VI of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle lists five intellectual virtues or veridical habits: art, scientific knowledge, prudence, intellectual intuition, and wisdom (1139b14-1139b19). The intellectual virtues are habitual powers of the mind to act that promote certainty and true belief, and Aristotle distinguishes them from opinion, in which “we may be mistaken” (1139b19). Unlike beliefs attributable to the veridical habits, which altogether exclude falsity and doubt, it is recognized even by those who hold them that opinions are less than certain, and that they could be either true or false. Regarding faith, however, …